“Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.” – Ayn Rand writing in Atlas Shrugged.

The recession has edged our government closer to full-blown socialism: nationalizing banks and industries, increasing social welfare to record levels, firing company executives, leveraging the future of the country by printing money by the truckload. Blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with even more control that only deepens the crisis.

As I was swaying on the porch swing, observing a beautiful East Tennessee Spring evening, I thought, “Ayn Rand was right.” Then I thought …” you need to get a life.” Then I thought about Ayn Rand again.

Rand was an American author and her final novel, Atlas Shrugged, is about a fictional world that eerily resembles America today. I can’t stop thinking about how prescient she was.

In the book, the nation’s inventors and producers are taxed, abused, and forced to support a society of pasty money-grabbers increasingly dependent on a welfare state. The pandering politicians use laws and moral guilt to confiscate the businesses, inventions, art, scientific research, and ideas of its most brilliant leaders. Finally the “men of the mind” can’t take any more and go on strike. They hope to demonstrate that the economy and society will collapse without the profit motive and the efforts of the rational and productive.

And collapse it does.

As I thought about this book and its relevance today, I learned that I’m not the only one drawing comparisons.

Atlas Shrugged was written 51 years ago, but is selling faster than ever. This month, Amazon listed the book at its #1 sales position for the fiction and literature category! Rush Limbaugh frequently refers to the work and Congressman John Campbell (R-CA) said this year: “People are starting to feel like we’re … living in Atlas Shrugged.”

Two op-ed pieces referencing the book were featured in the New York Times just this year. One was written by Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.

“Why do we accept the budget-busting costs of a welfare state?” Brook wrote. “Because it implements the moral ideal of self-sacrifice to the needy. Why do so few protest the endless regulatory burdens placed on businessmen? Because businessmen are pursuing their self-interest, which we have been taught is dangerous and immoral. Why did the government go on a crusade to promote “affordable housing,” which meant forcing banks to make loans to unqualified home buyers? Because we believe people need to be homeowners, whether or not they can afford to pay for houses.

“The message is always the same: “Selfishness is evil; sacrifice for the needs of others is good.” But Rand said this message is wrong — selfishness, rather than being evil, is a virtue. By this she did not mean exploiting others à la Bernie Madoff. Selfishness — that is, concern with one’s genuine, long-range interest — she wrote, required a man to think, to produce, and to prosper by trading with others voluntarily to mutual benefit.

“Rand also noted that only an ethic of rational selfishness can justify the pursuit of profit that is the basis of capitalism — and that so long as self-interest is tainted by moral suspicion, the profit motive will continue to take the rap for every imaginable (or imagined) social ill and economic disaster. Just look how our present crisis has been attributed to the free market instead of government intervention — and how proposed solutions inevitably involve yet more government intervention to rein in the pursuit of self-interest.”

Ayn Rand offered us an answer — independence and individual achievement enable society to survive and thrive, as long as there is a rational moral code. Over time, coerced self-sacrifice will cause society to self-destruct.

That is why she is relevant today.

This is part three of a series providing the essential marketing strategies you MUST drive during this economic downturn.

Allow me to start with a story. It’s short and you’ll love it!More than 50 years ago, Alcoa helped a struggling start-up who had a big idea – make pie pans and other shallow containers from formed aluminum. The company had some early financial setbacks but Alcoa saw the potential of the new company and helped them with R&D and favorable credit terms to ease them through their early growing pains.

The company’s founder was so grateful, he promised he would always give Alcoa 100 percent of his business. On his deathbed, he whispered to his son, “Stick with Alcoa. They brought us to the dance.”

In a time of struggle and turmoil, Alcoa took this customer under its wing and literally earned loyalty beyond the grave! This is a great story to illustrate my final imperative in this recession marketing series: EMBRACE YOUR CUSTOMER.

Your customers are probably struggling during this recession. So acknowledge that. Reach out to them. Help them. Treat them like human beings who are suffering.

This is the time to show customers what you’re made of. You tell them you care – now show it. You want to find mutually-beneficial solutions – work even harder for those win-win business offerings. Really listen and understand what you can do – together – to make it to the other side of the downturn. This is an opportunity to build rock-solid, long-term relationships and deep customer loyalty.

In the teeth of this recession, one car company actually INCREASED sales. Hyundai. How did they do it? They told their customers that if they bought a new car and then lost their jobs, they could walk away from their payments. Now THAT is a bold, meaningful statement. They have embraced their customers and demonstrated compassion when it was needed most. Only time will tell, but this corporate compassion will probably pay off for years.

What bold and compassionate move can you make to build long-lasting customer loyalty in their time of need?

Follow this link for a list of how people are using Twitter creatively to promote their businesses and ideas for free. The use of this platform has been doubling every month so it’s worthwhile to get involved and explore it. http://ginaholloway.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/how-is-your-company-using-twitter/

This is part two of a series providing the essential marketing strategies you MUST drive during this economic downturn.

Like a hungry wolf circling the weakest lamb, the recession will cull the weakest competitors in any industry. When you get to the other side, will you be gasping for life or positioned to be the leader of the pack for the long-term? That is the idea behind imperative number two: DEFEND YOUR MARKETSHARE.

First, a caveat. If you’re burning the furniture to heat the office, you’re excluded from this conversation. I understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. But as I look out for you, gentle reader, I want to assure that you have the best marketing wind (hot air?) filling your sail and puffing you toward a profitable future. And in that case, we need to talk about your budget.

At this point in the economic downturn, the pressure is really on. Accounting wants you to cut across the board. Manufacturing is pressuring you to do anything to increase short-term sales and reduce inventories. As a marketing professional, you are sworn to look-out for the long-term interests of the company. So before you take a hatchet to the budget, please lodge a management appeal for sanity, armed with your quiver of marketing fundamentals.

Here’s the first fundamental. Cutting your budget without a view of your competitor’s marketing activity is foolish. If competitors are INCREASING their ad spend while you cut, you will certainly lose customers, and maybe lose big. Remember, we’re trying to be the wolf, not the lamb by the end of this recession.

Second, what do you know about the economic health of your competitors? Do you need to simply OUTLAST them? I recently met with a metals industry executive who had returned from a customer visit. The customer told him that that his major competitor was on the ropes. Although my friend had lost 60% of his business in 12 months, he decided to INCREASE his spend on sales and marketing activities rather than let his competitor come up for air. Now that is the wolf thing to do.

Third, don’t cut your budget by an equal proportion across the board. Not all products and not all customers are equally profitable. Cut from the bottom and keep spending where you can maintain or even grow share.

Fourth, adjust your budget to focus on short-term activities aimed at driving marketshare. Here are some ideas:

• Focus on selling more to existing customers. Acquiring new customers is time-consuming and expensive.
• Pause marketing campaigns aimed at “feel good” values like green and sustainability and focus on projects that deliver short-term value to your customers. I’m not here to help you be PC. I’m here to help you stay employed!
• Consider spending ad dollars on couponing and specials. Coupon use is up more than 40% in 12 months.
• Re-negotiate your advertising contracts. It’s a buyer’s market. Plow those savings into customer retention.
• Use small incremental spends to improve web sales and eCommerce. If you already have a website, optimizing is almost always the cheapest way to acquire new customers.

Finally, I want to address social media as a part of a recession marketing plan. It’s free, and that is a good thing. It’s getting more buzz than Britney Spears on the town with Paris Hilton. So I know it’s calling you, calling you … like the mythological siren’s irresistible song, luring mariners to their destruction on the rocky islands.

Keep an open mind in this area. Keep experimenting and learning. But be cautious where you spend your precious time and resources. The potential of the social media platforms is undeniably vast and we are starting to see some interesting lead-generating applications. But no company in the throes of a meltdown is going to Twitter its way to profitability unless they are, well, Twitter. Prepare to be flogged and shown the door if you hand your boss a recession marketing plan built around Facebook.

OK, you’re prepared now. Go forth, prey on your weak competitors, and don’t give an inch of marketshare!

This is one of the most beautiful, fun and uplifting videos I have seen in a long time. And it’s a car commercial. Amazing. Thanks to John Bottom at Base One Marketing for passing this along.
http://vimeo.com/4281939

This is part one of a three part series providing the essential marketing strategies you MUST drive during this downturn.

Imperative #1: PROTECT YOUR BRAND.

You might be shaking their head thinking, “my business is too small to have a brand.” Well of course you have a brand. Your brand is the essence of your company. It’s your promise to your customers. Your brand is what makes you special and defines why customers keep coming back to you.

Think about this. What would you think if Coca-Cola announced it was moving operations to China to save money? That would be so counter to the company’s all-American image that it would cause a backlash against the company. It breaks their implied promise to America.

Similarly, what would be your reaction if Trump Hotels started a line of hotels to compete with Motel 6? You would be shocked because it is so inconsistent with the brand promise Trump has nurtured. It might meet a short-term customer need for value, but in the long-term the brand would be ruined!

Everything you do and everything you don’t do defines your brand. And if you don’t carefully protect and market your brand even when times are tough, your brand will be defined by what your competitors say about you.

In the age of social media, there’s another new element that can jeopardize your brand — the constant buzz on the Internet. Today, every individual can have a stake in creating the image of your company. A bad experience in a restaurant can fly over the internet immediately over Twitter. Bad service will be reported on any number of sites that review businesses. For the first time in history, public opinion is really PUBLIC – immediately, pervasively and permanently! In this environment, listening to your customers, monitoring the buzz and reacting immediately to protect your brand is more important than ever.

One last comment about the importance of forming an impenetrable shield around your brand — in a recession, people turn to who they trust. Keep them trusting in YOU and your brand promise. Don’t do anything to react to short-term conditions that will jeopardize your success in the long-run.

The latest issue of Wired features a story on brain-computer interfaces that allow patients to simply “think” of a message and send it to the world through Twitter. While pundits either love or hate this newest social media craze, you can’t help but wonder at the jaw-dropping possibilities of a real-world application like this. Imagine, unlocking communications and opening up the world for people who can think but can’t move. This is not pie-in-the sky. It’s happening now. Read more at:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/braintweet.html#previouspost

As more mainstream companies get involved with direct customer conversations in social media channels, who is responsible for the conversation?Two camps are emerging. Some believe that the more employee-enthusiasts involved, the better. You’re not going to stop the Tweets anyway so why try? Go ahead and enlist them for the good of the company. But do you really want every employee to have the authority of a company spokesperson?

Camp two is a traditional approach of command and control. One company, one spokesperson. But how is that even possible in an environment of instantaneous communication? Today, company news is not necessarily dictated by a press release. A rumor can travel globally over mobile devices faster than you can make a phone call to the CEO.

This issue is fraught with peril — yes, the more company enthusiasts the better. But are those the same people who will be defining your brand? What are the guidelines? What are the accountabilities? What if an employee unwittingly sets off a chain reaction of public humiliation?

Through traditional media channels, the guidelines were clear, the message was clear and the chain of command was clear. Despite the “come one, come all” freedom inherent in social media, I predict this same hierarchical structure will evolve to rule the social media channel in mainstream companies. The stakes are too high for brand integrity, corporate governance and SEC accountability to abdicate corporate communications to early adopters of the newest social networking platforms.

Corporations can’t control the network, but they can monitor what employees say and do and articulate consequences for those who step beyond well-established guidelines. A public company is not a democracy. Employees do not have freedom of speech. Watch what you Twitter.

It depends.

If your company is burning furniture to heat the offices, yes … cut the budget! Go through the grieving process, get over it and be the leader your company needs you to be in difficult times.

If your company is viable and competitors are struggling, this is the time to be aggressive. It might be wise to INCREASE your spend. The recession will sort out the weak competitors. Are you going to be a market leader when the economy comes back or teetering on collapse? The marketing money you spend NOW can determine your future to a large extent.

In either case, this is a time to show leadership and be excellent stewards of the marketing budget. It’s time to re-think your spend, re-negotiate media contracts, get closer to your customers, and re-focus on short-term value-oriented products the market needs.

If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, I have a number of longer articles on recession-marketing available for free on my website www.businessesGROW.com.